Coin operated timing device

ABSTRACT

A coin operated timing device capable of providing uninterrupted output when a plurality of coins are located in the coin chute. A microswitch having an operating arm located in the coin chute is closed whenever a coin is inserted. A timing motor having a shaft adapted to rotate 360* in a given time period moves a cam follower linearly into and out of the coin chute. The cam follower is restrained for linear movement only and is adapted to support the coins in a first position and allow a single coin to be released while at the same time keeping the microswitch closed for the given period of time. A pin located on the cam follower supports the plurality of coins while the lowermost coin is being deposited without interruption or opening of the microswitch.

United States Patent 1 Bednar et al.

[ COIN OPERATED TIMING DEVICE [75] Inventors: John P. Bednar, WoodlandHills;

Harvey N. Weaver, Harbor City, both of Calif.

{73] Assignee: Tele-Vend Systems, Woodland Hills,

Calif.

[22] Filed: July 25, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 491,689

[52] US. Cl. 194/9 T; l94/DIG. 2 [51] Int. Cl. G07F 5/02 [58] Field ofSearch 194/9 T, l G, 102, DIG. 1, 194/DIG. 2, DIG. 18

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,078,429 4/1937 Tweedale194/9 T 2,522,755 9/1950 Goebel 194/9 T FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS616.360 2/1961 Italy 194/9 T 691,795 6/1965 Italy 194/9 T Aug. 19, 1975Primary E.\'anzinerRobert B. Reeves Atsxs'istant Examiner-Francis J.Bartuska Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Singer & Singer [57 ABSTRACT A coinoperated timing device capable of providing uninterrupted output when aplurality of coins are located in the coin chute. A microswitch havingan operating arm located in the coin chute is closed whenever a coin isinserted. A timing motor having a shaft adapted to rotate 360 in a giventime period moves a cam follower linearly into and out of the coinchute. The cam follower is restrained for linear movement only and isadapted to support the coins in a first position and allow a single cointo be released while at the same time keeping the microswitch closed forthe given period of time. A pin located on the cam follower supports theplurality of coins while the lowermost coin is being deposited withoutinterruption or opening of the microswitch.

1 Claim, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEBAUGIQIWE 3,900,093

321m 2 or 2 Fig. 4.

Fig. 5.

Fig.6.

ICOHN OPERATED riMiNo DEVICE This invention relates to a coin operatedtiming device and more particularly to a timing device capable ofreceiving a plurality of coins and providing uninterrupted output aseach coin is subsequently received and deposited into the coin hopper.

The present invention is concerned primarily with providing a reliablecoin operated timing device for use with television receivers.

The business environment requires that the television receiver beencased in a substantial cabinet or casing which is securely fastened tosome immovable portion of the structure. The television receiver andcasing are usually located in some public area where the public isinvited to deposit a coin or a plurality of coins in order to view theirfavorite program. Such television receivers have been made available insmall sizes to restaurateurs, thereby allowing patrons to select andview a show in the same fashion that a patron would select a phonographrecord for listening while dining or resting.

Unlike the phonograph recording field where a record lasts approximately3 minutes, a television program invariably lasts at least 30 minutes andthe viewer thereby desires to see the complete program withoutinterruption until the very end.

In the preferred business environment it was discovered that aninvestment of a dime to view approximately minutes would satisfy themajority of viewers. It was necessary, therefore, to incorporate thedesigns of the present invention to allow a plurality of coins to beinserted into the coin hopper which would sequentially operate thetiming mechanism and allow the television receiver to remain on withoutbeing interrupted between 10-minute time segments as additional coinspassed through the coin chute.

The present invention provides a simple and direct mechanism foraccepting a plurality of coins to thereby provide a continuous showingof the electrical device without interruption as each coin isindependently passed through the mechanism and without any control orhandling by the user.

In this invention the coin chute is provided for receiving a pluralityof similarly sized coins. The coins are initially supported by one endof a bifurcated cam follower adapted to be moved in a linear directiononly.

A microswitch connected in circuit with the timing motor has an armlocated within the coin chute that is adapted to be'moved by the coin inthe lowermost position. The closing of the microswitch energizes thetiming motor having a shaft that rotates 360 in a given predeterminedtime which in this case would be 10 minutes.

An off'centered cam is located on the shaft of the timing motor and isadapted to move the bifurcated cam follower from an interferingrelationship with the coin chute into a free and open area.

The cam follower also contains a pin fixedly attached to the camfollower which also moves into an interfering relationship with thecoins in the coin chute in such a manner as to separate the lowermostcoin from the remaining plurality of coins thereby allowing thelowermost coin to be released while holding the remaining coins on thepin. When the lowermost coin is released the operating arm attached tothe microswitch is allowed to move, however, the uppermost portion ofthe bifurcated cam follower holds the arm in a closed position therebyallowing the timing motor to continue operation.

Continued movement of the timing motor causes the cam follower to beretracted away from an interfering relationship with the coin chutethereby allowing an additional coin to be released and held by thelowermost portion of the bifurcated cam follower. At the same time theuppermost portion of the bifurcation releases the arm of the microswitchwhich is now operated by the lowermost coin. This process continuesuntil all the coins have been dispensed at which time movement of thecam follower releases the arm of the microswitch which opens the switchand stops the rotation of the timing motor.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be mademore apparent by referring now to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the casing holding a coin operatedtelevision receiver;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the open casing illustrating the coin operatingmechanism;

FIG. 3 is a section taken along lines 33 of FIG. 2 more fullyillustrating the electrical components of the timing device;

FIG. 4 illustrates the timing mechanism with three coins inserted;

FIG. 5 illustrates the timing mechanism in operation as the lowermostcoin is dispensed;

FIG. 6 illustrates an additional sequential view of the timing apparatusshowing the release of the remaining two coins to continue the sequence;and

FIG. 7 illustrates a preferred cam follower.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a television casing 10containing a rear door portion 12 fixedly attached to a wall portion bymeans of screws 14. In the preferred embodiment the casing 10 is adaptedto fixedly support a television receiver 16 in a secured fashion. Therear door 12 is fixedly attached to the wall from the inside of thecasing 10 in order to provide maximum security. A shelf 18 formed atright angles to the rear door 12 provides additional support for thetelevision receiver 16 when in a closed position. A lock 20 located onthe outside of the casing provides maximum security for the televisionreceiver 16 and the easing 10.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a rear view of the casing 10 inan open position. The television receiver 16 is a conventional smallscreen television set preferably of the 7-inch screen size as measuredon the diagonal of the face of the screen. The casing 10 is adapted tocompletely encase the television receiver 16 and also to provide thescreen at a small angle to the viewer. The upper portion 22 of the rearof the casing 10 provides the space necessary for receiving and holdingthe coin operated timing device.

The upper portion 22 of the casing 10 contains an extension 24 having anopening 26 for receiving coins. The front portion of the extension 24usually contains instructions to the user advising him where to insertthe coin and how to operate the television receiver.

The opening 26 communicates with a vertical portion of the coin chute28. An operating arm 30 is connected at one end to a microswitch 32located within the upper extension 22 and at the other end contains aangle bend 34 which projects into the coin chute 28.

A cam follower 36 is controlled by an off-centered cam 38 which isdriven by a shaft 40 of a timing motor 3 42 that is physically locatedwithin the upper portion 22.

The off-centered cam 38 fits within a substantially rectangular opening44 thereby causing the cam follower 36 to move in a linear directionsince the cam follower is restrained from moving in any other manner.

One end of the cam follower 36 contains a bifurcation defining a lowerportion 46 having a right angle bend projecting into the coin chute 28and an upper portion 48.

The rear view of FIG. 2 illustrates the normal home position before anycoins are deposited within the coin chute 28. The so-called homeposition shows that the lower right angled portion 46 of the camfollower 36 is located within the coin chute 28 so as to catch and holdany and all coins deposited within the coin chute. The relationship ofthe bifurcation portion of the cam follower and specifically theprojection of the upper portion 48 which projects further than the lowerright angle portion 46 should be noted. This relationship will bedescribed in more detail in connection with FIGS. 4, and 6.

The cam follower 36 also contains a pin 50 which is fixedly attached tothe cam follower and which projects at right angles into the upperportion 22. The location of pin 50 is determined by the physical size ofthe coins used and will serve to support all of the coins except thefirst coin deposited in the coin chute when the cam follower 36 is movedas will be more fully described in connection with FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a crosssectional view of FIG. 2taken along lines 3-3 which more fully illustrate the timing motor 42and the microswitch 32 located within the upper portion 22.

Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, there is shown a sequence ofillustrations which more fully illustrate how action of the cam follower36 acts to continuously release the lowermost coin while supporting theremainder of the coins and repeating this act sequentially until all thecoins have been deposited without interfering with the operation of thetelevision receiver or in any way opening the microswitch 32 until afterthe last coin has been deposited and all the time purchased by the coinshas been dispensed.

Referring now to FIG. 4 there is illustrated the identical mechanismillustrated in FIG. 2 but with the addition of three coins 60, 62 and 64having been inserted within the slot 26. The coins 60, 62 and 64 areresting on the lower right angle portion 46 of the cam follower 36. Coin62 is resting on coin 60 and 64 rests on coin 62.

At this moment in time the lowermost coin 60 has pushed against theextreme right angle bend 34 of the operating arm 30 connected to themicroswitch 32. This action has caused arm 30 to move in the lowermostposition as illustrated in FIG. 4 which has the effect of closing themicroswitch 32 and operating the timing motor 42.

Operating of the timing motor 42 causes the shaft 40 to rotate in acounter clockwise direction as viewed from the rear which is theillustration of FIGS. 2, 4, 5 and 6. The off-centered cam 38 locatedwithin the rectangular opening 44 of the cam follower 36 is caused torotate in a counter clockwise direction thereby forcing the cam follower36 to initially move to the right and then begin moving to the left asthe off-centered cam 38 passes dead center.

Rotation of the off-centered cam 38 will continue until the maximumtravel of the cam follower 36 to the left is achieved as shown in FIG.'5. In this position the pin 50 has moved between coins 60 and 62 andhas in effect acted as a keeper by forcing coins 62 and 64 to besupported solely by the pin 50 during the intervening movement.

At the same time the movement of the cam follower 36 to the left hasplaced the lower right angle portion 46 of the bifurcated cam follower36 in the extreme left position thereby allowing coin 60 to be releasedand fall through into an acceptor not illustrated.

The movement of coin 60 releases arm 30 connected to the microswitch 32,however, the right angle bend 34 at the end of the arm 30 after beingreleased by the lowermost coin 60 now allows the arm to be caught and-held by the uppermost arm 48 which forms the upper bifurcation on thecam follower 36. In this fashion the lowermost coin is released and themicroswitch is still held in a closed position by the action of the camfollower. It will also be noticed that at this time the pin 50 isholding the remaining coins thereby insuring that only a single coin isdeposited pending the complete timed rotation of the shaft 40 attachedto the timing motor 42.

The continuing rotation of the off-centered cam 38 against therectangular opening 44 causes the cam follower 36 to now move in theopposite direction and to the right as viewed from the rear. Continuedmovement of the cam follower 36 moves pin 50 from contacting coin 62before the upper bifurcated arm 48 releases the operating arm 30 of themicroswitch 32.

At this point in time coins 62 and 64 are free to move into thelowermost portion of the coin chute 28 and rest upon the lowermost rightangle portion 46 of the cam follower 36.

In this normal position which is also that shown in FIG. 4, theoperating arm 30 is held by the lowermost coin 62 in an operatingcondition thereby maintaining the microswitch 32 in a closed condition.This action provides for continuous uninterrupted power to the timingmotor 42 which again allows the cycle to repeat itself.

The relationship between the placement of pin 50 and the upper portion48 on the bifurcated cam follower 36 provides that the coins will bereleased before the arm 30 is released thereby insuring there is no ratrace between the coins dropping and the cam closing.

The process described in connection with FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 will continueto repeat and repeat as long as coins are located within the hopper 28.

Referring now to FIG. 7 there is shown a preferred cam follower havingthe same capability as described in connection with cam follower 36previously illustrated and described. Cam follower 70 performs the sameoperational function as cam follower 36 and to this end contains thelowermost right angle portion 46 for supporting the coin and the upperportion 48 for defining the bifurcated section that uniquely identifiesa single coin within the coin chute. In addition pin 50 performs thesame function of holding the remaining coins while the lowermost coin isdispensed during the movement of the cam follower 70.

The driving portion for the cam follower 70 has been modified to nowinclude a substantially large U-shaped opening 72 defining a bifurcatedsection having a pair of arms 74 and 76 that are spaced apart asufficient distance so as not to contact the off-centered cam 38.Located on arm member 74 and 76 are pins 78 and 80 capable of supportinga pair of strong heavy duty resilient spring members 82 and 84.

The cam follower 70 is operatively positioned in the same manner as camfollower 36 with the exception that off-centered cam 38 is locatedbetween resilient spring members 82 and 84. The driving force for thecam follower 70 therefore takes place as the eccentric cam 38 rotatesbetween spring members 82 and 84 and imparts a driving force against thespring members depending upon the position of the off-centered cam 38during its rotational 360.

In operation, the function of the cam follower 70 is identical to thatdescribed in connection with cam follower 36, however, there are timeswhen improper coins are inserted in the coin chute or where customersinsert bent or mutilated coins that have a tendency to interfere withthe operation of the cam follower in selecting an individual coin. lnthose situations where the defective or improper coin binds or holds thecam follower, it has been discovered that the action of the offcenteredcam 38 against the springs 82 and 84 provide a resilient urging of thecam follower 70 which tends to free the jam and remove the offendingcoin from the coin chute. In addition, should the jam be permanent so asto prevent movement of the cam follower 70, then the off-centered cam 38being driven by the timing motor is free to rotate within the confinesof springs 82 and 84 without damaging the driving motor.

lt will be appreciated that cam follower 36 described previously isdirectly driven by the off-centered cam 38 and should a jam occur,damage would either occur to the driving motor or to the off-centeredcam or to the cam follower itself. Experience has indicated that thedriving motor usually hangs up and eventually burns out due to the heatgenerated.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 protects the driving motor and thedriving train from damage in the event of a jamming situation.

The inventive concept resides in the unique application of a bifurcatedcam follower that is restrained to operate only in a linear direction.This unique movement allows a series of complex functions to beperformed by means of a single cheaply constructed stamped item.

We claim:

1. A coin operated electrical apparatus for providing uninterruptedservice comprising:

a timing motor having a shaft adapted to rotate 360 in a substantiallygiven time period,

an eccentric cam fixedly attached to said shaft,

a cam follower controlled by said eccentric cam and restrained to movein a linear direction,

said cam follower has a bifurcated portion defining a pair ofspaced-apart arms,

said spaced apart arms located in a spaced relationship free and clearof said eccentric cam,

each of said spaced-apart arms having an anchoring pin for supporting apair of heavy duty resilient springs and in which said eccentric cam isforced between said resilient springs whereby rotation of said cam movessaid cam follower,

a coin chute for accepting a plurality of similarly sized coins,

a switch connected in circuit with said timing motor and having anoperating arm disposed in said coin chute whereby a coin placed in saidchute will contact said arm, close said switch, and operate said timingmotor, and

a pin fixedly attached to said cam follower and positioned to enter saidcoin chute and support said plurality of coins in excess of one,

said cam follower having a bifurcation defining a lower portion disposedin said coin chute for supporting coins and an upper portion forinterfering with said operating arm when a coin is released.

1. A coin operated electrical apparatus for providing uninterruptedservice comprising: a timing motor having a shaft adapted to rotate 360*in a substantially given time period, an eccentric cam fixedly attachedto said shaft, a cam follower controlled by said eccentric cam andrestrained to move in a linear direction, said cam follower has abifurcated portion defining a pair of spaced-apart arms, said spacedapart arms located in a spaced relationship free and clear of saideccentric cam, each of said spaced-apart arms having an anchoring pinfor supporting a pair of heavy duty resilient springs and in which saideccentric cam is forced between said resilient springs whereby rotationof said cam moves said cam follower, a coin chute for accepting aplurality of similarly sized coins, a switch connected in circuit withsaid timing motor and having an operating arm disposed in said coinchute whereby a coin placed in said chute will contact said arm, closesaid switch, and operate said timing motor, and a pin fixedly attachedto said cam follower and positioned to enter said coin chute and supportsaid plurality of coins in excess of one, said cam follower having abifurcation defining a lower portion disposed in said coin chute forsupporting coins and an upper portion for interfering with saidoperating arm when a coin is released.